The end of 2022 saw the release of what was probably one of the best interpretations in the calendar year of the blending between funeral sludge and post-metal in the calendar year: it is the work of Eyrth, a Latvian duo consisting of Alex Andreyev – guitars, bass, synth e vocals, and Andrey Kiver – drum programming, who had already made a name for themselves with their debut full length Fracture in 2019. Meridian is a work of rare intensity, being imbued with a dramatic mood that stretches across the nine tracks on offer, all of unusually short length compared to the typical modes of the proposed subgenre. Between ambient, samples that lead back to missions or explorations that were probably unsuccessful, furious explosions and unexpected melodic cues, Eyrth keep the listener under pressure throughout the album’s three quarters of an hour duration, forcing him to reflect on the limits and sacrifices that technological development imposes in the face of objectives that in more than one case prove to be unattainable. Godflesh’s industrial imprint, Monolithe’s cosmic afflatus and Amenra’s sense of psychic laceration merge into a sound that, when it manages to breach one’s defences, leaves several scars that are ultimately the achieved goal (this yes) of such a musical expression.

2022 – Independent